Committing yourself to something will keep you sane onboard

Time; An indefinite continuous existence where events are in the past, present and future.

Time in yachting; An existence filled with never-ending tasks in a changeable location, interlaced with a range of hobbies if and when there is free time.

It is a well-known fact that time to yourself in yachting is situation dependent and not always guaranteed. It is important to keep committed to things that interest you in order to achieve a work-life balance and ensure you stay sane onboard, so remember these things when committing to a hobby.

Inspire

Yachting attracts a wide range of crew from across the globe, meaning there are plenty of people with similar mindsets who can inspire you to try something different or even teach you a new skill. Having people around you who can motivate you to keep at that hard yoga pose, get to the next level of Spanish or to finish your most recent blog post can help spur on commitment.

Prioritise

You may have a number of different interests and hobbies, so it can be hard to juggle them all. Try to maintain at least one regular hobby and dedicate a good chunk of your free time to it, this doesn’t mean to say you should rule out others, just try to be realistic. This will change whether you are on charter, in a shipyard or on delivery.Think about your itinerary for a month at a time to see what you may be able to achieve in that time and place, logic will prevail – you won’t be able to master the art of fine drawing whilst heeled over at sea.

Learn

Being surrounded by people with various skill sets can prove to be useful because crew members with their own speciality can teach you their expertise. There is always something new to learn and whilst you’re couped up on a crossing, you may find yourself in the perfect environment to pick up a new skill. If your cabin mate is fluent in French get them to teach you, if the new deckhand is a photography pro then get him to show you and if the engineer happens to be a real gym bunny, why not start working on some circuits that you can do together on the boat?

Balance

Become committed, set yourself challenges but don’t let them take over. It is important to have well-rounded interests and be sure to combine new found hobbies with relaxing and socialising. It can also be tough to switch off out of work mode especially when you live and work in the same place, having a hobby will allow your mind to wander elsewhere.

Progress

Traveling the world for work opens up a lot of doors to various hobbies. For example, there are plenty of photographic opportunities both at sea and on land, especially with the onset of aerial photography or perhaps documenting your travel experiences through writing and blogging. Getting creative is easy too, whether it be learning something different from a crew member or getting the chef to teach you some cooking tips. In terms of sporting hobbies, you may have access to plenty of different equipment and or instructors, which, location dependent, could see you developing a love for something you would never have normally considered!

I am Gemma, I am 26 years old and I always struggle to answer the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” interview question.As a crew member on a 30m luxury sailing yacht, I travel the world’s oceans and as a freelance travel writer I do this with my laptop and camera in close proximity.Follow me on Instagram - click here.